justified

American  

[juhs-tuh-fahyd] / ˈdʒʌs təˌfaɪd /

adjective

1. having been shown to be just or right.

   If a parent sides with one child over another, one will feel righteous and justified, and the other will feel misunderstood and resentful.

2. warranted or well-grounded.

   The commission’s stance is that bans on GMO crops must be scientifically justified and crop-specific.

   I accept that there may be a penalty for justified civil disobedience, but I must weigh that penalty against the good that can be accomplished.

3. Printing. aligned with one or, especially, both margins.

   Justified text looks a little neater, but there's nothing particularly wrong with having a ragged right edge.

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noun

1. Theology. Usually the justified a person or persons believed to be worthy, redeemed, or absolved.

   Good works are logically and morally necessary, for they are nothing more or less than the evidence that one is indeed among the justified.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of justify.

Other Word Forms

• half-justified adjective
• unjustified adjective
• well-justified adjective

Etymology

Origin of justified

justify ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

If cloud revenue continues to rise briskly, all the capex will be justified.

From Barron's

Judge Tempia, who took the additional alleged offences into consideration, said his "deliberate and repeated" behaviour would ordinarily have justified a prison sentence, but she believed probation services could help him address underlying issues.

From BBC

“Given those circumstances the decision by Deputy Alfred to use deadly force was justified.”

From Los Angeles Times

“In some ways this, to me, feels pretty justified,” she says.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sam Curran will never have the pace of Wood nor the height of Overton, but against Nepal, in defending 10 from the final over, he justified his return from the wilderness.

From BBC

Related Words

• constitutional
• contractual
• fair
• juridical
• lawful
• legitimate
• proper
• statutory
• valid